Rawls View Of Ignorance

Rawls' View of Ignorance

Rawls theory of justice revolves around the adaptation of two
fundamental principles of justice which would, in turn, guarantee a just and
morally acceptable society. The first principle guarantees the right of each
person to have the most extensive basic liberty compatible with the liberty of
others. The second principle states that social and economic positions are to be
a) to everyone's advantage and b) open to all.
A key problem to Rawls is to show how such principles would be
universally adopted and here the work borders on general ethical issues. He
introduces a theoretical "veil of ignorance" in which all the "players" in the
social game would be placed in a situation which is called the "original
position". Having only a general knowledge of the facts of "life and society",
each player is to abide based on their moral obligation. By denying the players
any specific information about themselves it forces them to adopt a generalized
point of view that bears a strong resemblance to the moral point of view.
"Moral conclusions can be reached without abandoning the prudential
standpoint of positing, a moral outlook merely by pursuing one's own prudential
reasoning under certain procedural bargaining and knowledge constraints."
Rawls proposes that the most reasonable principles of justice for a
society are those that individuals would themselves agree to behind the "veil of
ignorance", in circumstances in which each is represented as a moral...

Rawls View Of Ignorance

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